Facebook looking to build its own handset?

We’ve already had a couple of Facebook phones in the form of the HTC ChaCha and Salsa, and recently heard rumours of the HTC-manufactured “Buffy”. Yes, as in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Now we’re hearing that Facebook is looking to go a step further, by building its own phone.

That’s the story according to a blog post by the New York Times, which credits - deep breath - “Employees of Facebook and several engineers who have been sought out by recruiters there, as well as people briefed on Facebook’s plans”. Phew.

Facebook is said to have enlisted “more than half a dozen” engineers who worked on the iPhone, and one who worked on the iPad.

The aforementioned HTC Buffy is still thought to be in the works, but Team Buffy has been expanded to look at hardware.

Even Mark Zuckerberg himself is said to have been interrogating former Apple engineers. It’s not clear, however, if he “poked” them on Facebook.

Facebook, now a public company, appears to be looking for ways to increase revenue. At the moment it makes a large whack of its cash from advertising on the desktop Facebook site.

However, former Apple hardware manager, Hugo Fiennes, warns: “Building isn’t something you can just jump into. You change the smallest thing on a smartphone and you can completely change how all the antennas work. You don’t learn this unless you’ve been doing it for a while.”

We reckon this one has “disaster” written all over it. Prove us wrong, Facebook.